I've never had any issues with mine, but maybe you have a defective heater and really it should work with any level of water flow, be it high or low.
Fluval E-series heaters
- Thread starter jschall
- Start date
It seems by trusting "lights" rather than a instrument made to measure temperature, isn't working out.jschall;4018395; said:
It shouldn't matter how much flow you have around/through/over the heater, because the thermostat is on-board.
All that flow will produce is an evenly heated tank. It should at least be heating the general area around the heater.
IMO, the ONLY way to be sure that a heater is working, is to check the temp with a thermometer. I check my temps at a point, farthest from the heater as possible, with an accurate lab thermometer.
We all have had heaters that had a red/orange neon light up near the top. All that was telling me is that there is electricity up to that point. It still doesn't tell you that the heater is working, that's what my trusty thermometer is for. It just tells you it is supposed to be working in reality.
In the case of the Fluval, that micro processor, is really just a fancy neon light in essence. Even it it would work properly, it can only give you a false sense of security.
The temp of the water is important for fish health.
By taking consistent temperature readings, with an accurate thermometer is the only way to absolutely know for sure what the water temp is. To me, that is where the security really is.
For 50+ dollars, I would think you could/would get a premium quality heater, that is UL listed, and has an accurate, close tolerance thermostat, and set the dial by what your quality Lab grade thermometer says, and not the obviously inaccurate on-board thermometer or dial says.
This is one area, where bells and whistles can be harmful...IMO of course...
I see where you are concerned for your fish, that's why you originally bought into the lights and all, but in all actuality, you are disabling your ability to get "for sure" accurate temp readings by trusting anything except your accurate thermometer...
Maybe it's not too late to return it and get a proper heater...
zennzzo;4019597; said:It seems by trusting "lights" rather than a instrument made to measure temperature, isn't working out.
It shouldn't matter how much flow you have around/through/over the heater, because the thermostat is on-board.
All that flow will produce is an evenly heated tank. It should at least be heating the general area around the heater.
IMO, the ONLY way to be sure that a heater is working, is to check the temp with a thermometer. I check my temps at a point, farthest from the heater as possible, with an accurate lab thermometer.
We all have had heaters that had a red/orange neon light up near the top. All that was telling me is that there is electricity up to that point. It still doesn't tell you that the heater is working, that's what my trusty thermometer is for. It just tells you it is supposed to be working in reality.
In the case of the Fluval, that micro processor, is really just a fancy neon light in essence. Even it it would work properly, it can only give you a false sense of security.
The temp of the water is important for fish health.
By taking consistent temperature readings, with an accurate thermometer is the only way to absolutely know for sure what the water temp is. To me, that is where the security really is.
For 50+ dollars, I would think you could/would get a premium quality heater, that is UL listed, and has an accurate, close tolerance thermostat, and set the dial by what your quality Lab grade thermometer says, and not the obviously inaccurate on-board thermometer or dial says.
This is one area, where bells and whistles can be harmful...IMO of course...
I see where you are concerned for your fish, that's why you originally bought into the lights and all, but in all actuality, you are disabling your ability to get "for sure" accurate temp readings by trusting anything except your accurate thermometer...
Maybe it's not too late to return it and get a proper heater...
I have a thermometer that I check the heater against and it is always flawlessly accurate. The only problem is that even though the heater knows the water is 3 degrees colder than what I set it to, it still does not turn on 100% of the time.
I bought it because it is solid state, meaning it does not have a bi-metallic thermostat (which is a moving part) to fail and get stuck on.
I'm giving it a week, after which I will return it and try to find a different solid-state heater.
I don't trust ebo jagers any more than marineland heaters if they use the same mechanism. Just because they're less common and therefore there are less reports of them getting stuck on, doesn't mean they can't do it.
I would argue that ebo jager's have less reports of them failing because they don't fail as much as other brands, not because they are less common. Just because the thermostat is the same type as the Stealth, does not mean that the tolerances and quality control are the same.
they have an excellent reputation for quality.
some of mine are 8 years running and still working fine.
lately on the board there have been a whole whack of threads about Stealths failing after only a few years. that says a lot I think.
one option that you might want to try if you are concerned about heaters is using a temperature controller. perhaps others can help with this?
they have an excellent reputation for quality.
some of mine are 8 years running and still working fine.
lately on the board there have been a whole whack of threads about Stealths failing after only a few years. that says a lot I think.
one option that you might want to try if you are concerned about heaters is using a temperature controller. perhaps others can help with this?
That's what I have done to eliminate any possible over working of heaters when I use more than one in a tank, a heater controller. I adjust the heaters (2-250w Stealths )to the highest temp setting and let my BioTherm heater controller send power to the now heater elements, to run all at the same time.
The unit I have is rated for 1000 watts.
I have this one here;
)to the highest temp setting and let my BioTherm heater controller send power to the now heater elements, to run all at the same time.The unit I have is rated for 1000 watts.
I have this one here;
